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One World with Zain Asher
Trump And Tehran Send Contradictory Signals On Talks; Travelers face Hours-Long Waits At Some U.S. Airports; Bannon: ICE Role At Airports Is Test Run For 2026 Election; Trader Made $1 Million On Polymarket; Aid Boat Arrives In Cuba Amid Power Crisis; Pentagon Restricts Press Corps Access Again; Sixty-six Killed In Colombia Military Plane Crash, Dozens Injured; Building A More Inclusive Future For Women In The Trades; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired March 24, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:33]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We are 25 days into the start of this war and sources tells CNN that the U.S. has reached out to Iran and Tehran
is willing to listen. The second hour of "One World" starts right now.
Trump says he is close to a deal. Israel says they're not there yet. Everything we know from Tehran to Washington.
Also ahead, betting on disaster. One trader made almost a million dollars predicting the start of the war in Iran, was it insider trading or just a
guess?
And later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY ROOSA, FOUNDER, THE SAFETY RACK: This is a simple ask. It is stated in the OSHA language that PPE must fit the employee and we're not doing that
for women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: If it's required for safety, why is it so hard for women to find something that actually fits? One woman's fight to make sure women get
proper protection.
All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. My colleague, Bianna Golodryga is off today. You are watching the second hour of "One
World."
Is it possible to meet in the middle? An Iranian source tells CNN Washington has reached out to Tehran in recent days and that Iran is
actually willing to listen.
Multiple countries are working to get a deal between the U.S. and Iran. This as the impacts of war reverberate around the world. CNN is told that
Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Oman are all involved in negotiation efforts.
Remains to be seen if U.S. President Donald Trump can end the war, though, on his timeline, while Iran may be outgunned, it has effectively closed the
Strait of Hormuz and holds the global economy hostage. But now, Trump does appear to be optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But to determine whether a broader agreement can be reached, we've had very good discussions, very,
very good discussions. And you have to understand, I know my whole life has been in negotiation. But with Iran, we've been negotiating for a long time.
And this time, they mean business.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: An Israeli official says, there are no immediate prospects of a deal to end the war of Iran, despite what Donald Trump just said. This was the
scene earlier today in Tel Aviv.
Several people were -- several people, rather, were reported wounded, as at least four missiles hit the city. Israel says Iran launched seven waves of
missiles in less than 10 hours.
Meantime, Israel continues to launch its own attack on both Iran and Lebanon. Our team is tracking all of these developments from several
different angles. We've got Jeremy Diamond standing by for us in Tel Aviv. We've also got Alayna Treene at the White House.
So, Alayna, let me start with you. I think the big question here is, who is Trump listening to? There are reports that the Saudi Crown Prince, MBS,
Mohammed bin Salman, reached out, essentially saying, listen, this is your opportunity to remake the Middle East, just in terms of weakening,
crippling the Iranian regime.
At the same time, you've got Pakistan's army chief reaching out to Trump as well, essentially pushing him towards negotiations and having talks in
Islamabad as well. Obviously, other countries are also pushing Trump to take a diplomatic off-ramp. Who is he listening to here?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think it's a mix of all of them, Zain. And from my conversations with, you know, White House
officials, Trump administration officials, we know, as you mentioned, that several different countries in the Middle East are helping and trying to
mediate between the United States and the Iranians.
But also, there's, of course, many people, both on his team and also allies outside of the White House, who have been on his ear on this, and many of
them telling him that this war needs to end swiftly and decisively. And that has been something that I think has really been weighing on his minds
in recent days, particularly, as we've seen, you know, the reaction in the oil market, something I think the president very clearly recognized he had
kind of boxed himself in on with that initial threat on Saturday to strike different energy infrastructure targets in Iran, you know, obviously
pulling back on that threat, then going on business networks to talk about, I think that gives you a sense of where his mind was on that front. So he's
also talking, of course, to his Treasury Secretary and others on that friend. So I think it's a mix
Look, what is clear is that the president has a far more optimistic view now about diplomacy. I'd remind you that just days ago, when he was leaving
on Friday afternoon to head to Florida for the weekend, when asked about diplomacy and the potential for a ceasefire or negotiations even to end
this war, he had a very different view. He essentially said, why would they agree to a ceasefire if -- and I apologize for the loud noise behind me,
Zain, but why would I agree to a ceasefire when we're essentially obliterating the Iranians? He said that in so many words.
[12:05:28]
And so obviously, this has changed now to a far rosier picture when it comes to negotiations.
To get to your question about what the Pakistanis are saying and wanting to host talks in Islamabad later this week, I am told that several discussions
have been taking place, including with people as high up as the vice president about potentially attending those, but all of those are fluid.
We know that Witkoff and Kushner, of course, been at the forefront. I think they are really driving a lot of the negotiations here. And -- and because
they've been at the forefront of these talks since last year, really, when they started, you know, attempting to work at a nuclear deal with Iran back
in the early months of the president's second term.
All to say, though, I think you have to take everything we are hearing all of this optimistic language and rhetoric from the president with some
skepticism, especially when you take into account. And I'm sure Jeremy will get into this, what we're hearing from partners in the Middle East involved
in this war.
But also just generally from my conversations as well, there's so much that needs to be done in order to have some sort of diplomatic off-ramp. I think
a key question as well is going to be if they do not feel like negotiations are going as successful as they had hoped by Friday, the new deadline that
the president set, will we see an increase in some of the attacks in the United States? Or are they going to really try to continue to work on
diplomacy? All of that still very much unclear at this point in time, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Alayna Treene, live for us. Thank you.
Let's bring in Jeremy Diamond. So, Jeremy, just in terms of where we are with diplomatic efforts to end this war, we know that -- it appears that
Trump does seem to be looking for some kind of diplomatic off-ramp.
But the Israelis, on the other hand, we're hearing that the Israeli officials said that a deal to end this war does not appear to be on the
cards right now. Are the Americans and the Israelis on the same page here, Jeremy?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's safe to say that there is an extraordinary amount of skepticism among Israeli officials
about what we've heard from President Trump over the last 24 hours or so.
And that's because the Israelis simply don't believe that the Iranians are in a position to compromise right now that they are prepared to do so.
And they also don't believe that the kind of diplomatic pathway that President Trump is trying to open is kind of concrete and needy enough
right now to actually lead to the type of deal that would end this war at this stage.
That being said, publicly, the Israelis are very willing to kind of go along and play President Trump's game here. We heard from the Israeli Prime
Minister yesterday who said that, you know, he conveyed that President Trump believes that the time is right now to convert the -- the military
successes that Israel and the United States have had in Iran into what he described as, you know, long-term agreement that would safeguard our vital
interests.
And -- and so he's saying that he's willing to give President Trump the opportunity to pursue that diplomacy. We've heard, of course, that language
from the Prime Minister in the past as well, including in the lead-up to this very war when we saw Prime Minister Netanyahu fly to Washington and
come out with a very similar message.
Look, President Trump wants to pursue diplomacy. Let's see if it works or not. And, of course, ultimately, we saw that the end result was the U.S.
and Israel began striking Iran.
And so, you know, I think the Israeli Prime Minister is taking a similar tack right now, allowing that diplomacy to take shape, but ultimately not
believing that it's going to be very successful.
And -- and as you mentioned, Israeli officials also privately telling us behind the scenes that they don't see much fruit being born out of this
diplomacy and that they also are speculating that this could be covered by the president in order to give more time for all of the troops and ground
elements to be in place in order to go to the next phase of this war, which could very well include U.S. troops on the ground in Iran, something we
know the United States is considering. We also know the Israelis have been considering special operations inside of Iran.
So the bottom line is everyone's kind of looking at this as let's take a few days to -- to let the markets cool down, to see if this diplomacy
actually bears any fruit, but ultimately, certainly Israeli officials but others in the region as well believe that when those five days are up at
the end of this week, they're really just going to be back to square one, but with a lot more U.S. troops in the region and perhaps a new phase of
this war.
ASHER: All right. Jeremy Diamond, live for us there. Thank you. Alayna Treene, appreciate it.
The White House tells CNN that a deal is coming together that could end the partial government shutdown affecting homeland security.
[12:10:00]
A White House official says negotiations are happening, but the agreement appears to be quote, acceptable. One democratic lawmaker told CNN today
that he thinks that President Trump will sign off on the plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. EUGENE VINDMAN (D-VA): The president will come to the table. The pain is being felt by the American people. Congress has their own lines of a
deal. I think we're going to get there.
The president deals in impulse. He doesn't think things through.
Republicans in the House and Senate have to say, Mr. President, now is the time to -- to make a deal, whether it's here or in the Middle East, and
actually think things through and not just deal on impulse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Delta Airlines has suspended the special service. It usually extends to members of Congress. Those services include airport export, airport,
rather escort. Delta says that for now members of Congress will be treated like all other passengers.
It says the services are suspended due to the impact on resources from the partial government shutdown. Airport delays continue across the United
States because of the shutdown. And Houston travelers are having to wait several hours to get through securities.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is live for us again at George Bush Airport in Houston.
Ed, please tell me that the guy we spoke to an hour ago has actually made it through. The one that was waiting three and a half hours and was almost
at the finish line. Please tell me he is through now.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, the -- the -- the problem with talking to people here is that it's kind of a fleeting
--
ASHER: Yes.
LAVANDERA: -- fleeting relationship. They just kind of come and go through our lives here. So I've lost track of him.
I'm -- I'm assuming he's -- I'm going to -- I'm going to assume that he's on the other side and safe and sound and -- and moving along.
But the, you know, the -- the nightmare here continues for so many travelers. And it's really interesting because what you kind of learn from
people is that they know what's coming, they know what to expect and they're doing whatever they can to make this as least less painful as
possible, but the lines are still rather dramatic.
We've been talking to people around here who've been in line at this point two and a half hours which is interesting because yesterday, and even
earlier today, the people were -- they were getting to this point in the line had been here like three hours.
So, there does seem to be a quicker pace to like how people are -- is moving. I don't know exactly why. It's kind of hard sometimes that all of
this is very fluid and changing rapidly.
But if you're at this point, you're near the end. But the wait times according to the -- the airport here, still about 250 minutes in this
terminal. We are in Terminal E. This is one of only two TSA checkpoints in this entire airport that is open.
So, if you're at this point, you're kind of in the home stretch. This is the last section of the -- the -- the winding lines before you get to the
actual checkpoints where the TSA agents take your I.D. They put the bags through the X-ray machines and -- and that sort of thing.
But, you know, by and large, everyone that we have been talking to kind of taking all of this in stride. They all kind of acknowledge they just, you
know, they're -- we're all in this together. There's not much you can do about it. This is what it is, is the -- is the refrain that I've heard over
and over again.
But as I mentioned, and we've been reporting on the federal government sending out Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents out here, it's not
exactly clear what they've been able to do at this particular airport to speed this process along because the wait times are pretty much the same as
they were yesterday.
We don't know if that'll continue to evolve over the next few days, but, you know, it's -- it's dramatic.
And to get to this point, Zain, you have had to go through all these lines up here. There's an escalator at the back end of the terminal where you
have to go downstairs. You have to go through another series of winding lines as well. And then take another series of escalators down into what is
essentially the basement where you can catch the subway tram that connects people to various terminals at this airport and that's where the line
starts. So these people have been through it to get to this point. Zain.
ASHER: You know, my stomach is literally in knots right now because I'm actually flying to Miami tomorrow. And I'm really not looking forward to
the airport wait times that await me, but I actually googled how long it would take me to catch a train to Miami from New York.
And apparently it's 27 hours. So it looks like I'm going to be flying out instead and probably waiting at the airport for five hours.
LAVANDERA: I feel like there's a raise in there somewhere that we can pull off.
ASHER: I know. All right. Ed Lavandera, thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
All right. Republican commentator Steve Bannon weighed in on ICE's agents role at American airports, suggesting they might also be deployed at the
voting polls as well. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, REPUBLICAN COMMENTATOR: And what the mainstream media said to blow up today, we can use what happening with these ICE helping out --
helping out at the airports. We can use this as a test drive, as a test case to get really perfect ICE's involvement in the 2026 midterm election,
sir.
[12:15:02]
MIKE DAVIS, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I think we should have ICE agents at the polling places. Because if you're an illegal alien, you can't vote,
right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: For more on this, I want to bring in writer for "The Atlantic" for the Atlantic, Toluse Olorunnipa. Toluse, it's been a while. Thank you so
much.
I mean, isn't that something, though? You have Steve Bannon basically intimating with his guests that perhaps ICE agents at American airports
across the country could just be a test run for getting ICE agents involved at the polls, voting polls, come the midterms in November.
I mean, that is remarkable. Your thoughts on that.
TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Yes. This is something Steve Bannon has been pushing for several months. The idea of having ICE agents
at the polls. It's not necessarily something that the president has (TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY) people that are running these elections, that there
could be some last-minute changes, last-minute efforts to disrupt the free and fair election that most people are hoping to have in November.
President Trump has talked about wanting to change voting laws before the midterms. He's talked about the fact that he believes that Democrats cheat,
even though he has no evidence to back that up.
And he's talked about using executive power to try to interfere with the normal running of elections. And ICE, as we've seen him turn to ICE
immediately. That once he saw problems in the airports, he turned to ICE very quickly and started deploying them. That is a sense, and it gives us a
sense of what he does when he's in a bind.
He takes this -- this new force that he believes that he has, because it's -- it's got a lot of money that passed under a bill last year that has
increased its size and increased its ability to be -- be deployed across the country.
And there's people -- there are people that are encouraging him to send ICE across the country at the polls, and that would be incredibly disruptive to
the free and fair elections that Americans are hoping to have.
ASHER: I mean, speaking of free and fair elections, just in terms of mail- in ballots, I mean, that is another -- that is another hot button issue for Republicans. This idea that perhaps ballots that are mailed in time but
technically arrive after election day, whether or not those votes should actually be counted or not.
OLORUNNIPA: Yes. This was the big case that was heard in the Supreme Court yesterday. Mississippi of all places, a Republican-led state has a grace
period for ballots that are sent out before election day, but because of the way the mail works, sometimes they don't arrive at the election's
office until after election day.
Mississippi and several (TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY) have continued to account those ballots as opposed to throwing them out.
The Republican National Committee (TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY) for those ballots, should be thrown out, and that any ballot that is in the mail (TECHNICAL
DIFFICULTY) at election day should be thrown out.
And that is a big fight that has been going on. It's a fight that President Trump is -- is saying that people's ballots should be thrown out if they
don't arrive before election day. And we'll have to wait and see what the court says, but that is a big issue that's facing the country as we're
preparing to vote.
And most people are realizing that -- that what they long experience with mail-in ballots, which is that as long as you get it in the -- in the mail
by election day, it will still be counted. That law could be changing. Those procedures could be changing. They could be outlawed by the Supreme
Court just months before a very contentious election. And that is something that is causing a lot of fear and consternation in the community of people
who -- in these elections.
ASHER: So, Toluse, just in terms of -- I mean, give us your take on how you think the president views ICE specifically.
Because we've seen, obviously, ICE being deployed in Minnesota and obviously the chaos that all of that caused. Now we're seeing ICE being
deployed at airports to assist with the long lines as a result of the partial government shutdown, even though, by the way, they're not really
having that much impact. There's no real sort of meaningful impact on those lines, but it does seem send a very clear message to Democrats.
And now this potential of, according to Steve Bannon, ICE perhaps being deployed to polling stations come November.
It's very clear that the president almost views ICE as his personal police force. I mean, just give us -- give us your sense of what the president's
perspective is on how ICE should be used.
OLORUNNIPA: Yes. Increasingly, the president sees ICE as a kind of paramilitary force that he can deploy at his own whim to decide whether he
wants to intimidate his opponents or he's often said that he wants to send ICE into Democrat-run states in order to sort of punish them for opposing
him.
And we've seen the president use ICE in very aggressive ways. And he has said that he wants ICE agents to be aggressive. He's talked about
supporting them, wearing masks and masks and going into communities to, in his opinion, hunt down violent criminals, in many cases, also picking up
people who have been in the country for decades who do not have criminal records.
[12:20:03]
And so the president's vision of ICE is one in which they respond to what he wants them to do. They act with a lot of force. They are tough guys.
They're people that go in and -- and do the kind of violent policing that he supports.
And the president wants that to expand not only for violent criminals, but also to people who oppose them politically and potentially to the voting
polls and intimidating people who are just trying to cast their ballot and vote in the next election.
ASHER: And before we let you go, Toluse, I do want to ask you obviously about the U.S.-Iran war. I want to know what is that stake for President
Trump, politically, come November. Because there's two aspects to this war that could actually get him into trouble. I think the most important thing
is really oil prices and what's happening at the pump when you have oil at over $100 a barrel, especially if that stays the cause and that lasts a
while in the country, where inflation has obviously been a persistent problem for quite some time.
And then on top of that, you've got this idea of TACO Trump, you know. If Trump actually exits this -- exits this war without necessarily assisting
the Iranian people, as he promised, with some kind of regime change or ensuring that Iran doesn't get its hands ever again on a nuclear weapon,
his two main objectives would have essentially failed, which would have a lot of Americans thinking, well, why did we go into this war in the first
place?
What are the political ramifications for the American president here?
OLORUNNIPA: Well, this is a president who realizes that his back is against the wall and because of the concerns over the American economy and the
inflation that was already a problem before this war started, has gotten much worse over the past four weeks as this war has been in place. And he's
looking for an off-ramp.
The Iranians, at least the ones that are able to speak for the regime, are not necessarily really looking for an off-ramp. They are hoping to survive
this and come out stronger. And the president is trying to talk about negotiations. He's already kind of back down from this maximalist threat
that he had to go after Iran's oil infrastructure. And now the president is trying to talk about negotiations while the Iranians are saying, we don't
want to negotiate. We want to defeat you, or we want you to go retreating from this war.
And so the president is in a very tough political position because members of his base do not want this war. He hasn't explained this war to the
American public. And the American public are -- are paying the cost of this war, not only through their tax dollars, it tends to $200 billion, but also
through the additional inflation that they're experiencing at the gas pump and in the grocery store.
ASHER: All right. Toluse Olorunnipa, thank you so much. I appreciate your perspective.
All right. Coming up, wages on military action against Iran raise eyebrows as one trader makes a million dollars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:25:24]
ASHER: All right. A missile that failed to explode has become an object of curiosity for people in a village in the West Bank.
One local man said it missed his nephew's house by a few meters. Unlike the majority of Israelis, most Palestinians in the West Bank have no access to
bomb shelters, but rely on sirens from Jewish settlements or nearby Israeli cities to alert them to incoming rockets.
Bets on U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran show signs of insider knowledge, that's according to an analytics company. And its
finding shared with CNN, a trader made nearly a million dollars from well- timed bets from -- on the online platform Polymarket.
Marshall Cohen has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Hey, Zain. Someone made nearly a million dollars with some remarkably accurate bets about the Iran war. All
these bets occurred on the prediction website, Polymarket, which is one of the most popular platforms in the world where people can wager on
everything from sports to elections and even war.
Now, we obtained exclusively a new analysis from a company called Bubblemaps, which analyzes blockchain transactions like those on
Polymarket. And they found some really striking things, a pattern of well- timed and accurate trades from this one trader going back to 2024.
They were accurately predicting Israel's strikes against Iran in October 2024. They were placing bets hours before the U.S. strikes against the
Iranian nuclear facilities last summer. And they also were very active in the days and hours before the surprise attack by the U.S. and Israel
against Iran just a few weeks ago in February.
And when all was said and done, this trader profited nearly $967,000.
Now, the experts I spoke to said that this activity does have some of the hallmarks of possible insider trading. One of the things that they look at
very closely is the win percentage really shrewd bettor's high frequency traders that really know what they're doing. They usually can get about 52,
53 percent of a win rate. This user had 83 percent for all their Iran bets.
And if you only look at their big bets bigger than $10,000, they had a staggering 93 percent win rate.
Now, we reached out to Polymarket for comment. They did not respond. But I should point out that the company did announce some new rules yesterday to
potentially crack down on insider trading activity on their platform showing that they are taking at least some new steps to try to keep that
activity off their site.
And, of course, we don't know the name or the identity of the user that made this nearly $1 million profit.
The accounts on Polymarket and its offshore website are anonymous. And, of course, theoretically, there could be a reasonable explanation for these
trades. Maybe they're just a great trader. But the experts that we spoke to said usually when there's smoke, there's fire.
Zain?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Marshall Cohen, thank you for that report.
All right. Coming up, an aid boat arrives in Havana at a desperate time for Cubans. I'll talk with an expert about what the island is facing from a
collapsing power grid to threats from the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:10]
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.
The first boat from an eagerly awaited aid flotilla has arrived in Cuba after setting sail from Mexico. On board, food, medical supplies, solar
panels are all coming at a really critical moment for the island.
Cuba's power grid collapsed twice last week under the oil blockade. The outages hitting hospital services, tourism, and a lot more than that.
As authorities struggle to restore electricity, threats from the U.S. President, Donald Trump, are growing louder.
Time now for "The Exchange." Joining me is Christopher Sabatini, senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, who's an expert on democracy and
human rights and foreign policy in the region. Chris, always good to see you.
I just want to make it clear to our audience what the ordinary Cuban citizen is experiencing right now. I mean, obviously, the economy, because
of this oil blockade, is basically in free fall. And even though you have these aid flotillas arriving from Mexico who's trying to lend a helping
hand without sending oil, you know, it is really a drop in the bucket, a drop in the ocean, compared to what Cuba actually is at this time.
And you've got an island with already aging infrastructure. You're going to have or continue to have long lines at -- at gas stations, if there is any
oil to go around at all. But there's obviously a massive disruption when it comes to transportation. There's shortages when it comes to medicine. The
salaries of state workers just not going to have the same purchasing power.
Just walk us through ordinary people in Cuba are experiencing right now.
CHRISTOPHER SABATINI, SENIOR FELLOW FOR LATIN AMERICA, CHATHAM HOUSE: It's difficult. And it is -- this is the most difficult experience that Cuba has
had economically, even since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Just to give you some numbers, Zain, about 40 percent of the Cuban population right now is living in extreme poverty. The majority only
survive on one meal day. The fuel shortages, which are massive, and as you mentioned, there are two national blackouts this week.
But that's only at the national level. Most, especially in the interior of the country, most people are getting buy-in on less than 20 hours or four
hours of -- of electricity a day.
That also means, though, the absence of fuel means, first of all, government offices have been shut down just for -- and only essential
employees are going to work.
A lot of hospitals have been shut down. During the blackouts, people that were in ICU that are in ventilators died because of the lack of
electricity.
But also you're facing a situation right now where garbage is piling up on the street because there's no fuel for garbage trucks to pick it up. So
there's a risk of -- of disease.
Also, most Cuban citizens survive on cisterns of pump fresh water. Without electricity, they're at risk of having to and not have potable water, which
also brings open the possibility of cholera outbreaks.
And then last, you have a situation where people don't have fuel to cook with. So when these blackouts occur, they lose the refrigeration, the food
spoils, and then they can't cook it. So it's severe at many, many levels.
[12:35:05]
ASHER: Chris, how did we get to this point? Because, you know, I think we're coming up roughly around to the 10-year anniversary from when
President Barack Obama made a historic visit to Cuba where he met with Raul Castro.
It was obviously a hugely symbolic attempt to normalize relations between the United States and Cuba, including, you know, access to the Cuban
financial system, lifting the travel ban, ensuring the embassies were opened in both countries, that sort of thing.
And now, here we have a situation where the U.S. is, you know, musing over potentially taking over the island.
Explain to us what has happened between 2016 and now.
SABATINI: Well, first of all, during the Obama era, which he-- in which he normalized relations, opened up opportunities for U.S. investment in
tourism and to people to people, exchanges, we saw a booming private sector in -- in Cuba.
With individual bed and breakfast, there were over 500 bed and breakfast, or houses that have been opened up under their Airbnb. The people can go
and stay in as well as independent restaurants. There was a real flourishing, or at least the beginning of a flourishing of the economy.
But two things happened. The first is the Cuban government slow walked any broader economic reform. Proposals for investment, whether in factories or
financial services, were basically put on hold. I think in part because the Cuban government was afraid of losing too much control over the economy,
and also because they simply saw this as a long-term project.
But then when Donald Trump was elected in 2016 and then July 2017, he basically reversed all the Obama changes. And then just most recently on
July -- January 3rd, with the removal of Nicolas Maduro, the then-president of Venezuela, the U.S. put a blockade on oil that had been flowing from
Venezuela to Cuba, which the Cubans needed to survive.
They can only produce about 40 percent of their own oil. And that basically just was a death knell.
Besides that, and since 2020 with a COVID crisis, Cuba's other main source of by currency, tourism, completely evaporated. So they were already facing
a humanitarian crisis from about 2021 on. And now without any fuel, it's reached a dire situation.
ASHER: And, you know, it's -- it's one thing sort of during the first Trump administration to reverse, you know, what President Obama did because of
political and ideological differences. It's another thing to put an oil blockade on the nation. I mean, those have very, very different outcomes.
What is the point of all of this? What is the U.S. trying to achieve here?
SABATINI: I don't think we really know here. You know, when Obama first, rather, Trump first reversed the Obama changes, he said, he was going to
score a better deal for the Cuban people.
Right now, what he's inflicting is massive humanitarian suffering on the Cuban people, squeezing them for his own political agenda, which we really
don't know what it is.
I think at a certain level, what he wants to do is a Venezuela-type operation. Engage in some cosmetic changes that leave the regime in place,
but allow him to open it up for business, allow for some sort of diplomatic maneuvering, and allow him to most importantly declare victory and move on.
The problem is that Cuban regime is a revolutionary regime. It's not like the Venezuelan government. It is deeply disciplined. It's very structured.
It's very vertical. You simply can't remove one person and have someone else rise in -- in there to replace them.
But second is you have a very large and powerful Cuban American lobby. And for them, Castro and the Castro regime has been the enemy number one. They
want absolute and total regime change. And they will fight, not -- not physically, but they will argue and politically push back if the Trump
administration engages in any sort of cosmetic or decapitation, if you will, figuratively speaking, of the Cuban regime that leaves it and the
Castros in place.
So, he's really stuck right now between a rock and a hard place. At the same time, the economy is really just collapsing, which risks a huge exodus
of refugees for an island that's just 90 miles off the coast of the United States.
ASHER: All right. Chris Sabatini, live for us. Thank you for your perspective.
U.S. Secretary --
SABATINI: Thank you.
ASHER: -- of State Marco Rubio took the stand today to testify in the federal trial of former Florida Congressman David Rivera. Rivera is a close
friend and political ally of Rubio.
He and an associate face charges, including money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent in the U.S. on behalf of Nicolas Maduro's
government in Venezuela.
Rubio was called by the prosecutors as a witness in the trial. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
All right. Still to come here on "One World," the Pentagon is pushing new rules on the press corps, even after a judge blocked earlier restrictions.
We'll take a closer look, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:40:19]
ASHER: All right. Let's check and see how the U.S. markets are doing right now. Let's take a look and see it.
The Dow is up, ever since it's basically flat. As is the S&P 500. And the NASDAQ is down by a little bit more than half of one percent. This is your
business breakout.
Oil prices are rising again as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran rumbles on. On Monday, they fell sharply after President Trump rolled back on threats to
target Iran's energy facilities.
The International Benchmark for Oil, Brent crude, is back over $100 a barrel. The British government has pledged to help those who need help with
their energy bills.
Earlier, the government announced plug-in solar panels will be available in shops within months. The idea is to offset skyrocketing energy prices
because of the continuing war.
In the Middle East, after a six week long trial, a lawsuit accusing Meta of enabling child sexual exploitation is now in the hands of a jury.
New Mexico's attorney general sued the company in 2023 for allegedly creating a breeding ground for child predators on Facebook and Instagram.
Meta denies the claims.
The Pentagon has announced fresh restrictions on access for journalists. The order came just days after earlier moves by the Pentagon to clamp down
on the press corps were blocked by a federal judge who said that they violated the First Amendment.
The new rules include shutting down the correspondents' corridor where journalists have worked for decades. And all journalists accessing the
Pentagon must now be escorted by Defense Department personnel.
Seasoned reporters have described the latest changes as retaliatory, while the "Pentagon Press Association" says, they restrict the freedoms that help
keep Americans informed.
Let's bring in CNN's media analyst and media correspondent for "Axios," Sara Fischer. Sarah, good to see you.
It appears that the Defense Department doesn't want to give up without a fight here.
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Well, that's exactly right. They've also said that they're going to appeal this decision. So you know that they're
not just going to continue to fight in the corridors of the Department of Defense and the Pentagon, but also in the courtroom.
And by the way, this is not something that should shock anyone. In previous instances where courts have ruled against the administration, they found
workarounds.
When a judge ruled last year that the White House was wrong to sort of block the "AP" from certain Oval Office events in Air Force one, the White
House simply removed wires from its press rotation.
So it figured out a way to adapt there and doesn't shock me that the Defense Department is figuring out a way to adapt here.
ASHER: When you consider the fact that there is a war going on in Iran right now, the U.S. and the Israelis are involved in and therefore,
obviously, there is more coverage of the Pentagon, more coverage of the Defense Department.
[12:45:07]
The fact that at this particular point in time, the Defense Department is limiting access to journalists just in terms of, you know, obviously, there
is these sort of superficial workarounds that we've talked about, but eliminating the correspondents' corridor where journalists have worked for
decades and also ensuring that anyone trying to get into the Pentagon requires an escort, to be escorted by Pentagon personnel.
All of that, I mean, what does that do, just that lack of transparency and the lack of sort of access, the limited access, what does that do just in
terms of press freedoms and the ability to actually cover this war accurately?
FISCHER: I mean, the irony is it inspires reporters to work even harder to get to the truth. They think that they are controlling the message,
controlling the narrative by making it harder for reporters to get access inside the building.
But what we're finding is reporters continue to break great scoops about this war outside of it. And I think that they are working closer together,
reaching across different outlets to try to break these stories because they know they have to work even harder given some of these limitations.
Now just broadly speaking, you typically want to have a free press, the fourth estate that's healthy, especially at a time of war global conflict.
Like we've seen in the past of American history, take the Vietnam War, for example, take the Iraq War, where not having a strong fourth estate really
back checking and holding the government to account can impact the future of our own democracy and freedom.
And so it is something that press freedom advocates are deeply concerned about. But I personally am optimistic that this is just going to really
incentivize reporters to dig deeper.
ASHER: All right. Sara Fischer, thank you for that.
At least 66 people were killed when a Colombian Air Force plane crashed shortly after takeoff with more than 100 passengers and crew on board.
Video circulating online shows the aircraft's wreckage engulfed in flames and black smoke in a rural field in southern Colombia.
CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Colombian soldiers were killed on Monday morning as an Air Force plane, an Hercules C-130 crashed on Monday morning
just after taking off from the remote outpost of Puerto Leguizamo, which is a remote town deep in the Colombian Amazon jungle next to the border with
Peru.
According to the Joint Chief of Staff of the Colombian Military Forces, 125 troops were on board of the plane and route to Puerto Asis, which is a
logistical hub for the whole region of the Colombian Amazon.
Of these 125, 11 were crew members and 114 were soldiers from the Colombian Army.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that at least 80 of these soldiers had been rescued. And thanked the local community down in Puerto Leguizamo
for providing the first aid and -- and arriving at the scene to try rescue as many people as possible. Several of them have already been taken to the
Colombian capital Bogota.
Authorities are not speculating on what caused the accident, but have so far ruled out the possibility that this was the result of an attack from
armed insurgents that are operating in the jungle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. CARLOS FERNANDO SILVA RUEDA, COLOMBIAN AIR FORCE COMMANDER (through translator): At the moment, we have no details on what caused the plane to
crash. Other than that, as soon as it took off, it experienced a problem and crashed a couple of kilometers from the airport.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: And the Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the soldiers were carrying ammunitions with them. And this is why in some of
the videos you can hear the explosions from some of the cartridges after the plane crashed and took fire.
This incident is likely to throw even further into the spotlights how dangerous it can be to travel in the Colombian Amazon region, where several
of the civilian and military aircraft are old and no longer suitable for flying.
In a post on X, Petro lamented that he had tried to upgrade the military fleet. However, he said the bureaucracy got in the way.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. It seems like a simple request to have protective gear for women that fits properly. That's not always the case.
But after the break, you'll meet a woman who's trying to change that. Stay with us for that story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:23]
ASHER: All right. March is Women's History Month. So let's take a closer look at women in skilled trades.
The number of women working in those jobs has reached an all-time high, but they're still underrepresented in essential areas of the industry. And the
equipment needed for them is still designed for men.
KCCI's Jodi Long introduces us to two women working to make the field much more inclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JODI LONG, REPORTER, KCCI (voice-over): It's unboxing day at Amy Roos's kitchen table.
ROOSA: I've been waiting for this to come for a long time.
LONG (voice-over): Inside these bags and boxes are important workwear designed with women in mind.
ROOSA: It's worth the investment. We just have to get it in the right hands.
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to The Safety Rack. I'm Amy Roosa.
LONG (voice-over): Roosa is a women's personal protective equipment influencer. She founded The Safety Rack. The non-profit focuses on
researching and advocating for PPE.
ROOSA: By the way --
LONG (voice-over): Like vests, steel-toed boots and gloves for women working in the trades.
ROOSA: Personal protective equipment is the last line of defense between you and the hazard. This is a simple ask. It is stated in the OSHA language
that PPE must fit the employee, and we're not doing that for women.
LONG (voice-over): Roosa says, one in five women are injured by their PPE. Two in five will have a close call. On top of that, an overwhelming 90
percent of women say, they can't find workwear that fits them well.
ROOSA: That was part of the problem. I've been a safety professional for 20 years. And I was comfortable just being handed men's PPE or unisex and
being told to deal with it, but I was being injured by it too.
LONG (voice-over): She's now made it her life's work to help women on the job buying clothes that do the job.
ROOSA: Women deserve to be in these spaces. They're already facing different challenges. PPE should not be one of them.
LONG (voice-over): At the Iowa School of Construction, the enrollment waiting list is over a year long. Forty percent of its students are women.
(MUSIC)
PERLLA DELUCA, IOWA SCHOOL OF CONSTRUCTION: There is no reason women cannot be in construction. We can do anything we can put our minds to. So we just
got to do it.
LONG (voice-over): The 12-week program focuses on every aspect of the trade from hand tools, concrete work and heavy machinery. The school's co-
founder, Perlla Deluca, says it's a solution to the state's labor shortage and an opportunity to empower.
DELUCA: When they listen to other people saying they can't do it or they're not capable, I always tell my students, you are the only one that decides
your capability.
ROOSA: Everybody has a different cut.
LONG (voice-over): Back at Amy Roosa's house, she personally reviews the clothing, their size and fit.
[12:55:03]
ROOSA: That's actually really nice.
LONG (voice-over): Even creating an online directory of brand selling women's workwear.
ROOSA: I'm seeing the change slowly starting to happen.
LONG (voice-over): Helping make access to essential gear easier, a movement to make sure personal protective equipment is for everybody.
ROOSA: If I can close that gap, so that they feel more protected at work and more confident to do their job and hold their ground, I want to do
that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. That does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching as always. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
